League: Warriors deny Carney link

Warriors' chief executive Wayne Scurrah denies the club is in
the mix to sign Todd Carney, and says any meeting between the
player and Warriors' coach Matt Elliott was purely
coincidental.

Reports in the Australian media today claimed the Warriors
had made a bid for the Cronulla five-eighth, but Scurrah said
the club had made no contact with Carney's representatives.

The 26-year-old was in the country last month to support
partner Lauryn Eagle and Cronulla captain Paul Gallen at the
Fight for Life charity boxing event, and the Daily
Telegraph reported Elliott met with Carney while he was
in Auckland.

Scurrah said that meeting may have taken place but he
insisted it was merely a case of the two men, having worked
together at the Canberra Raiders, catching up rather than
discussing business.

"We certainly haven't had any talks with his agent or
anything like that," Scurrah said. "I think it's more that
[Carney] played with [Elliott].

"I understand there were quite a few players supporting guys
like Paul Gallen fighting. Matt and our players were at Fight
for Life, so it was more coincidence in terms of catching
up."

The Daily Telegraph reported interest from the
Warriors and the St George Illawarra Dragons led to the
Sharks offering Carney an extended three-year contract,
something Scurrah said would stand to reason.

"He's contracted, and I don't think Cronulla would be looking
to release him at the start of the season."

Having lost James Maloney to the Sydney Roosters, the
Warriors have signed Thomas Leuluai and Harry Siejka to fill
the void in the halves, although a combination between Carney
and Shaun Johnson would be an appealing proposition.

After breaking into the NRL under Elliott at Canberra in
2003, Carney was axed by the Raiders in 2008 following a
string of off-field misdemeanours.

He came back from a season-long ban to win the Dally M Medal
while playing for the Sydney Roosters in 2010, before being
released from his contract the next year after breaking a
team alcohol ban.

Carney signed with the Sharks on a two-year deal last season
and enjoyed another season of redemption, including making
his State of Origin debut for New South Wales.